In today’s edition of “Celebrities Try Questionable Street Snacks,” our ’90s icon Alicia Silverstone, aged like fine wine at 47, has lived to tell the tale of her epic berry encounter. It all started with an innocent TikTok video where Alicia took a brave bite of a mysterious berry she found… on the street. Yes, she went full foraging mode. But no, this wasn’t some organic farmers’ market berry—it was a “What even is this?” berry.
“Uh, hello, what the heck is this!?” Alicia captioned her TikTok video, clearly baffled. She was in England, a land famous for scones, not suspicious berries, and was counting on the internet to channel their inner botanist to solve the mystery. You know, because when you’re unsure about a berry’s identity, the best course of action is always to… eat it?
“I found something, and I don’t know what it is,” Alicia begins in the video, holding up her mystery berry like a contestant on a nature survival show—minus the survival instincts. “I just bit into it because it was on the street…” Yes, Alicia, that sounds like a foolproof method for safe snacking. Then she paused, with what could only be described as instant berry regret. “I don’t think you’re supposed to eat this,” she admits.
Cue the internet’s collective gasp. In the comments section, people frantically tagged their friends, herbalists, and possibly the ghost of Steve Irwin. Was she going to be okay? Was this a real-life Clueless sequel?
The next day, Alicia blessed us with an update that was both reassuring and somehow, peak comedic gold. “I’m alive and well!” she posted, probably after scaring the bejeezus out of a few of her followers. Then, with a cheeky wink emoji, she added, “Don’t worry… I didn’t swallow. 😉😛” Whew, Alicia! You dodged that one like a plot twist in a rom-com.
So, what was this mysterious berry, you ask? Was it a rare superfood or a new Goop product? Nope. Turns out, Alicia had tried to snack on a Jerusalem cherry, or as the science nerds call it, Solanum pseudocapsicum. Sounds fancy, but it’s really just a member of the nightshade family. Yes, nightshade—as in, the mildly poisonous plant that Shakespearean villains might use for their secret potions. This little cherry is native to Peru and Ecuador but has decided to spread its toxic joy across the world as a decorative houseplant. If you’re lucky, you might find it posing as a weed in South Africa, India, or even New Zealand!
Alicia Silverstone nearly became a cautionary tale about why we don’t eat unidentified street berries. But instead, she’s still standing, still posting, and probably checking her snacks a bit more carefully from now on.